Improvement in piles-supporters



2 Sheets sheet 2.

6. W EST.

Pil es Supporters. N0. 142,972. Patented Sgp-temberli, 1873.

AM PHOM-LITHOGRAIl/IC (0.1% X lasaam/z's FRULESSI UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

COLUMBUS WEST, OF PITTSBUBG, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN PILES-SUPPORTERS.-

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 142,972. dated September 16, 1873; application filed September 8, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, UoLUMBUs WEST, of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Trusses or Piles-Supporters, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing and the letters of reference marked thereon, making part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a front view in perspective. Fig. 2 is a rear view in perspective. Fig. 3 is a side view of the ball. Fig. at is a vertical sectional view of one of the front straps.

The object of my improvement is to provide a cheap, simple, and practical support to be used for the relief and cure of prolapsus'ani or protruding bowels and external hemorrhoids or piles, and the construction and general arrangement of which is such that, under all circumstances or positions in which the body may or can be placed, it is equally comfortable to wear, and always operates with a uniform pressure on the parts affected. In constructing my improvement, I secure the elasticity required in devices of this character without the employment of steel springs; and I so protect the person of the wearer from direct contact with the straps that support the pad as to avoid all cutting or chafing of the flesh, which permits the truss to be worn without pain or inconvenience, and thus enables the patient to follow with ease and comfort his ordinary avocation. My invention relates chiefly to a novel arrangement of the supporting-straps for the anus-pad and their attachments. The front straps, or the straps that pass up over the stomach of the patient, are

. non-elastic, and are inclosed in a small rubber tube, which not only renders them comfortable to wear, but prevents their chafing. These front straps are connected with the waistband or belt by means of hooks and eyes, and in such manner as to be detachable at pleasure. The rear straps, instead of being attached directly to the waistband, are secured thereto by means of a back piece or brace-pad, which, when the truss is being worn, projects downward sufficiently far to protect the body of the wearer from all direct contact with said rear straps, and which is of the greatest importance, especially as these straps are elastic, and consequently are always taut or held with a tight and bindingpressure, and which would necessarily irritate and chafe the patient were it not for the protection which the pad afiords; and the pressure incident to the extending or contracting of the straps is also borne directly by this pad, and without the slightest inconvenience to the wearer; and, besides, this pad acts as a positive brace, strengthening the parts where there is the greatest weakness. My invention also consists in using, in connection with the rear brace-pad and the hookand-eye attachment, an adjustable anus-pad constructed of a solid ball of rubber. The shape of this pad corresponds to the form of the anus, and is of such dimensions as to allow of its projecting, or,,when a sponge is used, of its pressing the sponge into the anus sufficiently far to close and support it. This pad is formed with a slot at its base, and is slipped over the supporting-straps, and, owing to the fact of its sliding freely thereon, may

be adjusted at pleasure.

The construction and operation of my invention are as follows:

A is the waistband or belt, which is constructed of any suitable material, and is fastened by means of a buckle, A. To this belt A are secured two pads, one, B, being in front, and the other, 0, at the rear. This belt passes through loops 1) b and c c on the outer faces of these pads, and by means of which they are relatively held in their desired positions. These pads are of the form shown in the accompanying drawing, and are constructed of leather or of some other suitable material which possesses the'desired stiffness. D is the supporting-strap of the anus-pad E, and is constructed of leather or other suitable material. This strap is looped into a ring, f, which is secured at the end of a heavy piece of elastic webbing, F, and which is sewed to the upper section of the pad (3, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. This piece F passes under the belt A, by means of which and the loop e it is secured and held in proper position on the pad (J. This strap D having been looped so as to secure the desired bearing in the ring f, its free ends are passed through short sections D D of rubber tubing, and are fastened to the front pad B by means of the hooks a a, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. E is the anuspad, and is substantially of the form shown in Fig. 3. Through the base of the pad is cut or mortised a slot, 0, through which passes the straps D D. This anus-pad E slides freely over the straps, which permits of its.being adjusted, and its relative position in connection with the strapschangcd or arranged at pleasure. At G, dotted lines, Fig. 2, is shown a sponge or sponges, which I propose to use in connection with my improvement; or, if desired, two sponges may be used. Especially is this desirable in case the patient should desire to use any piles ointment. On preparing the sponges for use in connection with my improvement, I trim them or thin them at such sections as are to fit over or around the anus-pad, and which causes them inuse so much the more readily to conform to the contour of the anus-pad.

From the foregoing description the operation of my improvement will readily be understood. The straps D D, having been unhooked, are left free. The parts having been bathed with a sponge, and the water squeezed out of the same, it is ready, if desired, to be used. in connection with my improvement.

The pad E is now slipped along the strap D to the desired point, orto such position as will afiord the proper and most direct support for the anus. The sponge is now placed over the pad E, and, if ointment is used, a small sponge is placed over that. The straps are 110w passed up over the front of the body or stomach, extending up in an angular position, and are fastened by the hooks a a in either of the series of openings d d.

And now the great advantages of my improvement will be readily understood. Instead of the front straps cutting and chafing, the patient has only in contact with this portion of his body the round, soft, and yielding surface of the rubber tubes, and which always retain their shape, and are pleasant and comfortable to wear. The pad 0 at the rear of the patient and under his seat hold the straps entirely free from all direct contact. The pad extending as it does down to a point below the line of the anus, its lower end acts as a ridge to hold the straps away, and consequently, no. matter how great the inflammation and irritation immediately around these parts may be, the straps can in no manner chai'e or rub, while, with the pad extending down as it does, it acts asa protector, so as to strengthen the parts, the strap F causing the truss readily to yield to each and every motion of the body, and under all circumstances holding the anus-pad in position to support and sustain the muscles and tendons, and to take off all the downward pressure, thereby relieving and giving nature the power of strengthening these parts, and leaving the patient in condition with ease and comfort to attend to his usual avocation.

One of the greatest conveniences that will be experienced in connection with this truss is the readiness with which the patient is enabled to use the stool. He simply has to unhook the hooks a a and remove the sponges, and swing the straps and pad back, passing the straps over and tucking them under the waistband. This is a feature of great practical utility, and obviates the necessity and inconvenience of frequently removing and re.- placing the whole support.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-- 1. The supporting-straps D D and rubber tubes D D, when the same are so combined and arranged asto operate substantially as described, as and for the purpose specified.

2. The brace-pad O, sliding rubber anuspad E, and double supporting-straps D and their tubes D, the whole being combined and arranged to operate substantially as described. In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

COLUMBUS WVEST. Witnesses:

EDWIN JAMES, J os. T. K. PLANT. 

